Vladimir Shamanov

Vladimir Anatolyevich Shamanov (15 February 1957-) was Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Airborne Troops of Russia from May 2009.

Biography
Vladimir Anatolyevich Shamanov was born on 15 February 1957 in Barnaul, Altai Krai, Soviet Union. Shamanov joined the Soviet Army in 1978 and fought in the Nagorno-Karabakh War before fighting in the Chechen Wars, and from 2001 to 2004 he was Governor of Ulyanovsk Oblast, succeeding Yuriy Goryachev and preceding Sergey Morozov. In August 2008, Shamanov was given command of the Russian Army forces in Abkhazia during the Russo-Georgian War, leading 9,600 Russian troops. In 2009, he assumed command of the Russian Airborne Troops (VDV) after the victory against the Republic of Georgia.